By Joy Chakravarty
Tiger Woods said he “greatly enjoyed” watching Will Smith’s ‘King Richard’ – the movie based on the father of tennis stars Venus and Serena Williams, and marvelled at the similarities with his own father’s story.

However, the 15-time major champion was quick to point out one big difference.

“My dad was a bit different from Richard. He did not push me in that way,” said Woods, who is hosting his Hero World Challenge in Albany, Bahamas, this week.

“He would always tell me to play as many junior tournaments as possible. I played a ton of junior tournaments, whereas Venus and Serena did not.

“But my dad grew up in that racial time. And so, for me, to hear all the stories that he passed on to me, and all that Richard was going through, was very relatable. I can understand how he must have felt, and I can also understand what Serena and Venus had to go through.”

Directed by Reinaldo Marcus Green, King Richard is the story of the Williams sisters’ success, told through their father, who famously made a plan for his daughters to become world No.1 tennis players even before they were born.

Anne Marie Fox.

It has been receiving a lot of praise from critics and fans and has a 91% score on the movies review site, Rotten Tomatoes. King Richard is produced by Will Smith, who loves his golf and is often seen playing at Dubai courses, and lists Venus, Serena and their half-sister Isha Price as executive producers.

The Williams sisters grew up in Compton in south-central Los Angeles, where they faced racial issues on a regular basis and threats from the neighbourhood gangs. At almost the same time, Woods, now 45, was acquiring fame less than 30 miles down the road at Orange County.

Woods said there was one particular scene in the movie that seemed to have been lifted straight out of his life.

In King Richard, the Williams were continuously harassed by hood gangs, but as the sisters started getting famous, the same gang members apologise to Richard and promise protection for the family.

“I grew up not too far away from where they grew up and gang violence was a reality… shootings and stabbings were a reality. You are forced to pick sides, and sometimes you weren’t allowed to pick sides… they just picked it for you. They sometimes chose whether or not you are gonna make it or not,” reminisced Woods.

“And so, that that was neat to see when they start off pretty ugly, and then all of a sudden, they had won the game and they were saying, hey, you know, we will protect you. You’re going to get out of here. And you know, I had that moment, almost similar. So yes, I can totally relate to that part of it.”

Woods added that while things are much better now in the US, black kids still have to go through experiences similar to Venus, Serena and himself.

“Unfortunately, you know, our country at that time, racism did exist. It does now, but certainly not at level which Richard or my dad had to participate in and go through. We are still not quite there. We are still fighting and bickering over it. So, we still have a long way to go.”

Asked if Woods had any intentions of making a movie on his father, he replied: “Let’s see.”

The post Tiger-King Richard: Golf’s GOAT ‘totally relates’ to the movie of Venus and Serena Williams’ upbringing appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

WE’RE BUYING

Matthew Wolff: That didn’t take long, huh? Less than three weeks after hitting his first tee shot as a pro, Wolff won his first PGA Tour title at the 3M Open. And he did it in spectacular fashion with a back-nine 31 capped by a walk-off eagle on No. 18:

A weekend to remember.@matthew_wolff5 had a highlight-reel finish @3MOpen en route to his first TOUR win. ?#LiveUnderPar pic.twitter.com/H8jKAwWUrm

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 8, 2019

I’m not sure what was better. The eagle itself or the fact Wolff didn’t even watch the ball go into the hole before starting to celebrate (watch it again, closely).

He knew it was good before it went in. ?

That's some confidence, @matthew_wolff5. ? pic.twitter.com/gMrgeSjvfq

— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 8, 2019

The reaction from his swing coach, George Gankas, who was watching from his pool with some buddies, was also pretty good:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzocs2fARaI/?utm_source=ig_embed

The weather was awful a couple of weeks ago when I went to the first round of the Travelers Championship. But I braved the elements and the mud pit I had to park my car in (can I expense a car wash?) for the sole reason of being able to say brag one day that I saw Wolff’s pro debut. Incredibly, that day is already here. The Matthew Wolff Era is officially upon us. And I can say I was there from way back on Day 1 . . . a couple of weeks ago.

Collin Morikawa: OK, so it wasn’t technically a walk-off eagle by Wolff because this fellow newbie had a crack of his own to tie Wolff moments later. Morikawa missed, but his two-putt birdie gave him a T-2 and a decent consolation prize in a special temporary PGA Tour membership. Since making his debut at the Canadian Open last month, the Cal product has a scoring average of 68.792. Snazzy.

Jon Rahm: Remember when this guy was all the rage for winning his first PGA Tour title with an eagle from the fringe on 18? Seems like ages ago, and yet Rahm is still only 24. And still really, really good. Over the weekend he offered arguably his most impressive performance yet, firing rounds of 64 and 62 at Lahinch to claim the Irish Open for the second time in three years.

Ross Kinnaird

Oh yeah, I’m buying Lahinch, too.

This any good or nah? pic.twitter.com/CLoWs8X0Ri

— Kyle Porter (@KylePorterCBS) July 5, 2019

That place looks absolutely spectacular.

The Bob Vokey Tour Experience: Earlier this year, I had the honour and pleasure of going through a fitting with this wedge wizard at Titleist’s beautiful facility in Oceanside, Calif. And now I’m reaping the rewards with clubs hand-crafted by the legendary club maker himself. Tough assignment, I know. For those interested, click here for more on this unforgettable experience that can also be yours. It will just cost you. . . (gulp) $2,400. Here’s a pic of Mr. 60 (What I call myself around the office) and the real Mr. 60, who turns 80 next week:

Happy birthday, Bob! And if I win my upcoming major (the 2019 HGGA Championship), I will be sure to thank you in my victory speech.

WE’RE SELLING

John Daly’s week: The two-time major champ made two big announcements in the past week. First, that the R&A was denying him the use of a golf cart at next week’s Open Championship at Portrush. Then that he had undergone surgery after being bitten by a spider while vacationing in England with his family.

Thankfully, Daly is OK, but not feeling well enough to play in the year’s final major. Instead, he’ll play at the Barbasol Championship, where he will likely be allowed to use a cart. In a related note, I’m buying these things being called “buggies” like they are in the UK. And yes, I’m selling spider bites that send you into surgery. Terrifying stuff.

Tiger Woods’ early wake-up calls: Apparently, the 15-time major champ is setting his alarm clock for 1 a.m. to try to get on Northern Ireland time ahead of next week’s Open Championship in Royal Portrush:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzqZMWwALUP/?utm_source=ig_embed

I dig Tiger’s enthusiasm, but that seems a bit much. Also, wouldn’t he be better served by heading across the pond and waking up at a normal time in Northern Ireland to get used to the time difference? And, you know, actually playing some golf over there? Just a thought, Tiger. . .

Shooting 28 under. . . and losing: That’s exactly what Ariya Jutanugarn did at the Thornberry Creek LPGA Classic. Despite a final-round 64 to get to that absurd number, Jutanugarn came up one shot short to Shanshan Feng, who shot a Sunday 63 to get to an even more absurd total of 29 under par. Congrats to Shanshan on winning for the first time in nearly two years, and condolences to Ariya.

ON TAP

The PGA Tour heads (At least, those not playing in this week’s Scottish Open on the Euro Tour) to TPC Deere Run for the John Deere Classic, AKA the Steve Stricker Open. Sadly, the Strick Show has chosen to play the Senior Players Championship instead. He will be missed—especially since this field might not have the star power of the Senior Players. On the bright side, a guy with an ELECTRIC swing that has taken the golf world by storm is playing!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzqk5B1FM9N/?utm_source=ig_embed

https://www.instagram.com/p/Bzss3KlFLKs/?utm_source=ig_embed

Oh, yeah. Matthew Wolff will be there, too.

Random tournament fact: Defending John Deere champ Michael Kim won by eight shots last year. He returns having missed 20 (yes, TWENTY because I’m not counting Kapalua where there wasn’t a cut) consecutive cuts. Freaking golf, am I right?

RANDOM PROP BETS OF THE WEEK

—Michael Kim will win the John Deere Classic by eight shots again: 1 Million-to-1 odds

— Matthew Wolff will win the John Deere Classic: 15-to-1 odds (Actual odds)

— George Gankas’ lesson schedule is booked up for a while: LOCK

PHOTO OF THE WEEK

Not only did Bryson DeChambeau have his own 18th-hole heroics topped by Matthew Wolff, but he also became a meme. Introducing “Brysoning”:

Bryson's face when Matthew Wolff made his eagle putt on 18 ???? pic.twitter.com/hakzXEThqt

— Amanda Rose (@AmandaGolf59) July 7, 2019

Credit where credit's due: when the camera is rolling, Bryson plays the best frat-house-comedy villain in golf. Wolff makes a putt behind him, and our man delivers pure "my father, the DEAN, will hear about this!" incredulity. pic.twitter.com/HykarBtDEL

— Garrett Morrison (@garrett_TFE) July 7, 2019

looking through email after a long holiday weekend pic.twitter.com/tSNMTE6dK6

— Brendan Porath (@BrendanPorath) July 8, 2019

Poor guy.

VIRAL VIDEO OF THE WEEK

The European Tour’s latest stroke of genius involved surprising fans by putting them in the TV booth to call the action. And the results were fantastic:

What happens when unsuspecting Irish golf fans end up on 'live TV'?

Introducing… #AccidentalCommentary ? pic.twitter.com/vpOKqvTKkt

— DP World Tour (@DPWorldTour) July 8, 2019

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

“Maybe a virgin pina colada.” — Matthew Wolff when asked how he planned to celebrate. The kid’s got jokes as well.

THIS WEEK IN CELEBRITY GOLFERS

Will Smith showed off an interesting way of setting off fireworks:

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzfzpEVg_QK/?utm_source=ig_embed

Is this a scene from the next Independence Day?

THIS WEEK IN DUSTIN JOHNSON-PAULINA GRETZKY BROOKS KOEPKA-JENA SIMS PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

https://www.instagram.com/p/BzhCyfaAwtO/?utm_source=ig_embed

Does Brooks Koepka play in between majors just to miss weddings?

THIS WEEK IN OTHER TOUR PROS PUBLIC DISPLAYS OF AFFECTION

And Maverick McNealy and Danielle Kang continue to be golf’s new “it” couple:

https://twitter.com/MavMcNealy/status/1147974972905676800

Love the use of WAG, Mav.

THIS AND THAT

We had George Gankas on the Golf Digest Podcast to discuss Matthew Wolff and also try to get some tips to increase my pathetic swing speed. He didn’t disappoint.

https://soundcloud.com/user-96678684/matthew-wolffs-breakthrough-win-george-gankas

Speaking of increases, the R&A announced a 40-per cent spike in the purse for next month’s Women’s British Open. That deserves a big golf clap. . . . Phil Mickelson managed to take seven(!) penalty strokes during an opening 74 at the 3M Open, including dumping two balls into the water on No. 18. Hopefully, he dives into some of his craziest rounds in the next “Fireside with Phil” episode. . . . Congrats to Air Force captain Kyle Westmoreland for making his second consecutive cut on the Korn Ferry Tour. It took a pilot’s focus to make it to the weekend this past week in particular with Golf Digest photo editor/Grind producer Michael Sneeden subbing in as his caddie. . . . And finally, I have no clue whose lawn this is, but it always catches my eye when I play the Links at Union Vale:

If Golf Digest ranked America’s greatest lawns, this would have to be on the top of the list.

RANDOM QUESTIONS TO PONDER

How many majors will Matt Wolff win?

How many times have I watched Fargo?

How do I mow my lawn like that?

The post Matthew Wolff’s speedy arrival, Tiger Woods’ early wake-up calls, and Bryson DeChambeau becomes a meme appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

By Kent Gray
Justin Parsons was with pals at Emirates Golf Club watching the 2008 FA Cup final when his cellphone rang. The call was prefixed +1, instantly recognisable as the dialling code for the U.S., and was about to make the Northern Irishman as giddy as Nwankwo Kanu had been moments earlier when the Portsmouth striker tucked away a near-post chance. The Nigerian’s 37th-minute goal would ultimately sink Cardiff City hearts, not that the football registered much after halftime for Parsons, his mind suddenly awash with possibility.

RELATED: Parsons lured to Georgia club that boasts David Love III and Zach Johnson among its membership

JP with Claude and Butch Harmon

Claude Harmon III, the middle of Butch and Christy Harmon’s three children, had just made the overture of a lifetime. Would JP be interested in joining him to open a new Butch Harmon School of Golf in Dubai Sports City, attached to the new Els Club? CH3, as he’s affectionately known in the trade, didn’t need to ask twice.

Parsons would start in late September as part of the pre-opening team. With much to do before Butch came out for the official opening on Jan. 14 the following year (Adam Scott also lent his celebrity to the occasion), Parsons figured a holiday was a sage move to recharge his batteries. After resigning from his position as Director of Instruction (DOI) at The Montgomerie, he got ready to kick back. Or so he thought.

“I’m thinking I’m going to have a nice three weeks to chill out in Dubai but in keeping with the Harmon work ethic, Claude rang and asked if I could come in for a morning to go over a few things. I got in here [the BHSG Academy] at about 9 o’clock, ended up working the whole day thinking about projects and different stuff, and at the end of the day, I thought right, that’ll be me. But Claude says ‘Great, see you tomorrow’.”

Parsons, now 41, has been chained to the BHSG Dubai production line for the nine years since and very happily so. He remembers giving the first public lessons on Valentines Day in 2009 but before then appeared in the launch edition of Golf Digest Middle East alongside Claude. Parsons’ contribution to the Nov. 2008 issue was no more than a fleeting mention as Claude rightly had the honour in a series of instruction articles with the magazine. It proved one of the few times he’s played second fiddle to any teaching professional in the UAE ever since.

Today Parsons is DOI once more, this time leading a team of five PGA professional. He’s Dubai’s undisputed coach to the stars, and not merely to golfing names like PGA Tour-bound Peter Uihlein and Dubai amateur sensation Rayhan Thomas. Even Parsons has to pinch himself occasionally as he works fundamentals with Hollywood A-lister Will Smith and cricket god Sachin Tendulkar or chews the fat with Rory McIlroy as his young countryman goes through his annual New Years tune-up regime at The Els.

Actor Will Smith (left) and cricket god Sachin Tendulkar (right) often seek Parsons’ help.

The link to the Harmon dynasty was made by Wayne Johnson who had worked with Butch in Las Vegas, the Bahamas and Portugal before landing the top Troon teaching job at The Montgomerie where he created a position for Parsons in 2005.

Fast-forward three fun years to the BHSG and working for Claude quickly proved an eye-opener. Lee Westwood, then the world No.1, was regularly on the range tinkering with the young Harmon, as were the likes of Darren Clarke, Søren Hansen and Mikko Ilonen.

“I’d worked with one or two tour players myself but nothing of the calibre that was starting to come through here with Claude,” Parsons recalls. “It gave me a great chance to see how they [the Harmons] kept the message simple and worked on ways to help players without confusing them.”

And what gems have Butch imparted over the years?

“He would always encourage us to see the problem quicker, try to uncover what Butch would refer to as cancer the swing. The one thing that isn’t going to completely confuse somebody but something you can deliver that is going to fix two or three other things.”

The world’s most respected coach also challenges his instructors to keep their eye on the man, not the ball, so to speak.

“I was out with Butch and I remember Webb Simpson had been out to see him, and Webb is a lovely gentleman, religious family, very well spoken and would never swear. So Butch sounds like an old southern gentleman, no swear words. But when Butch is teaching one of the boys like Dustin Johnson he’s a little bit more of a sports jock. The language can get kind of… colourful.

“It is having the ability to appeal to different people and to be a bit of a comedian. I think that helps an awful lot too.”

Nowadays there’s ample banter, given and taken, with Thomas who was a member of an early junior intake at the Dubai school and remains a treasured project today.

Peter Uihlein and partner Chelsea Gates

Parsons was something of a junior prodigy himself, getting down to scratch quickly and finishing runner-up at the Irish Boys’ Championship within two years of taking to golf as a 13-year-old.

He went to Alabama on a scholarship but it was short-lived, as were dreams of becoming a touring pro after “moderate to limited success” on the then MasterCard (now EuroPro) Tour.

By the age of 25, a lingering lower back problem had become chronic to the point where an orthopaedic surgeon suggested corrective surgery after he’d literally crawled into his apartment after a range session. Parsons is thankful he opted against the op now and while his playing dreams were dashed, the door to a teaching career had long been ajar.

“If you talked to the boys I use to play with back in Ireland, they’d say ‘he’s far too technical’ because I was always trying things. I’ve always had a real love for the swing.”

While still uber-inquisitive, Parsons is also proud that the early BHSG team were able to quickly find a balance between the data being spat out of modern teaching tools and remembering they were “in the business of human beings”. “Do you need to see a video or to get images in your head? Do you need to get a drill?  Do you want to talk about the physics of how Trackman is telling you the ball is flying? I think Butch is one of the masters of, you know, if he meets Mr X, he’ll understand within 15 minutes what makes Mr X tick.”

Parsons applied that human first theory when Uilhien came knocking in Aug. 2016 looking for a swing and fortune reboot.

“I wanted to find the best way for Peter Uihlein to swing the golf club, not what I wanted from the perfect swing. He’s a really good player already and just happens to be in a bit of a pickle based on injuries and some poor form.” Having recovered from wrist surgery, Parsons went to work on creating a power fade swing to replace the draw Uihlein had gone to most of his career. After winning the Web.com Tour Finals opener in Ohio last month, it’s fair to say the only pickle Uilhein now finds himself now is trying to figure out how to juggle a PGA and European Tour schedule next season.

Parsons has savoured working with Uihlein at three of the year’s four majors and the European Tour’s flagship BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth. The grown-up kid from Killinchy, a town roughly 20 miles north of Royal Country Down, still has plenty of pinch yourself moments – “don’t lose your mind because you are meeting Tom Watson” – which make the job, well, awesome. But it is a job, bottom line, and like his players, Parsons has set KPIs.

An early BHSG junior intake (from left to right): Eric Hartzuiker, Rayhan Thomas, Matthew Laven, Jai Bhalla, Aryan Chordia and Arkesh Bhatia

“I would love to think in 9 years time I have helped a player to achieve a major championship victory. I’d like to think that I’ve helped another lad like Rayhan or young lady to come up and become a very good player.

“To me, those are the things that say back to me ‘I know what I’m doing’. That’s no disrespect to the fact I get pleasure from helping you strike a seven iron better or whatever, but I think professionally what really thrills you the most is to see someone you have nurtured come up and either re-perform or perform higher than they have before.

“That’s what Butchy always says to us, your biggest job when you have got a good player is, ‘Don’t screw it up’.”

So far, so good.

This story first appeared in Golf Digest Middle East’s 100th edition in October 2017.

The post The rise and rise of Justin Parsons appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.